The lunar module is one of twelve built for the Apollo moon-landing program. Although this one never flew because an earlier test flight was completely successful, two-stage lunar modules like this one have been used for each manned moon landing.

Lunar modules do not have to be streamlined for flights through the vacuum of space or to withstand reentry. The lunar module (LM) lifts off from Earth enclosed in a compartment of the Saturn 5 launch vehicle, below the command-service module that houses the astronauts. The command module pulls the LM from its storage area once the spacecraft are on their way to the Moon, and the two travel together until they arrive in lunar orbit.

When the crew is ready to land, two of the three astronauts enter the LM and undock it, leaving the third to pilot the command module. After touchdown on the Moon, the astronauts exit through the door above the ladder.

The silver and black ascent stage, containing the astronauts’ pressurized compartment and the clusters of rockets that control the spacecraft, fits on top of the shiny gold descent stage that actually touches down on the Moon. The descent stage contains a main, centrally located rocket engine. This segment of the craft remains on the Moon as the crew lifts off in the ascent stage to rejoin the command module.

After the crew transfers to the command module, the ascent stage is also left behind as the three crew members start their return journey.

The LM is displayed just as it would look during a moon-landing mission. The gold and black materials insulate the spacecraft’s inner structure from temperature extremes and protect it from micrometeoroids. Thin sheets of both materials are used in “blankets” to accomplish the necessary protection in a foreign environment.

The black material is heat-resistant nickel-steel alloy. Each sheet is only .002 millimeters (1/12,000 of an inch) thick. These absorb heat and radiate it back into the blackness of space.

The shiny gold material on the descent stage is aluminum that is thinly coated over plastic film. The thin sheets of plastic and aluminum are used in blankets of up to 25 layers for protection and insulation of the spacecraft.

Prime contractor for the lunar module was Grumman Aerospace Corporation.

The lunar module on exhibit is from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.